WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - A preliminary report released by the University of Michigan on Friday showed consumer sentiment in the U.S. deteriorated slightly in the month of November.

The report said the consumer sentiment index edged down to 98.3 in November from the final October reading of 98.6. Economists had expected the index to dip to 98.0.

Despite the modest decrease, Surveys of Consumers chief economist Richard Curtin said the index has remained higher thus far in 2018 than in any prior year since 2000.

'The stability of consumer sentiment at high levels acts to mask some important underlying shifts,' Curtin said. 'Income expectations have improved and consumers anticipate continued robust growth in employment, but consumers also anticipate rising inflation and higher interest rates.'

'While these positive and negative changes act to offset each other in the aggregate, younger consumers have benefited most from more positive income trends and older consumers are more likely to complain about the erosion of their living standards due to rising prices,' he added.

While the report said the current economic conditions index inched up to 113.2 in November from 113.1 in October, the index of consumer expectations slipped to 88.7 from 89.3.

On the inflation front, one-year inflation expectations edged down to 2.8 percent in November from 2.9 percent in October, but five-year inflation expectations rose to 2.6 percent from 2.4 percent.